In 2016 TRANSCAER® had a great year marked with CIAC members, partners and staff leading outreach events touching over 2,000 people. This represents events CIAC members supported in 24 communities across seven provinces. Key events included three days of outreach in Lac-Mégantic, a one-day session in Ottawa, as well as large multi-industry collaborative events held in Elmira, Calgary, and Prince George.

Looking back, from the national perspective, highlights from the year include the outreach event held in Lac-Mégantic, the increased collaborative work with stakeholders, particularly Transport Canada and the U.S. National TRANSCAER Task Group, and our presence at the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs (CAFC) Conference.

“The CAFC conference, where we met Fire Chiefs from coast to coast, was a great chance to promote TRANSCAER,” said the National TRANSCAER Co-Chair, Carrie Maxim. “It was also a fantastic opportunity to learn how many chiefs were already familiar with, and had great things to say, about the program.”

Looking forward, in 2017 TRANSCAER will continue to focus on getting the message out to those outside of the traditional first responder community, increasing outreach numbers and exploring ways to strengthen the partnership with Transport Canada.

A key step in this direction, and helping 2017 start off strong, was realized when the TRANSCAER message was shared with 1,700 emergency response planners and communities across the country. Thanks to a partnership with Transport Canada, a special TRANSCAER one-pager was included in an information package sent to all the communities who have registered with CANUTEC to learn more about the dangerous goods that are travelling through their area.

“There are big plans in the works for TRANSCAER in 2017,” says Randy Mak, National TRANSCAER Chair. “The CCPX 911 safety train is in high demand, we are seeing an increase in requests to attend forums and conferences, and we’re in the final stages of developing an awards program.” Additionally, there are updates planned for the transcaer.ca website including the implementation of a registration feature. This will save time and make it even easier for organizers and participants to stay connected.

Planning for this year’s outreach activities is well underway. Kara Edwards, National TRANSCAER Coordinator, says that TRANSCAER has already had many questions about what’s coming up. “One of the most exciting requests has come from an emergency services officer in Labrador West. It would be great to host an event there since it’s in a Northern, Atlantic community, a region where we are trying to increase our presence.”

To know what’s happening in a community near you this year, make sure to check out transcaer.ca and follow @TRANSCAERCanada!